According to The Hollywood Reporter, writers Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi have been brought on board to pen the feature adaptation of The Tale of Despereaux for Universal Pictures. Sylvain Chomet is directing, while Gary Ross is producing through his Larger Than Life Prods. with shingle partner Allison Thomas.

The book "The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread," by Kate DiCamillo, spent 38 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list and has sold more than 1 million copies. It won the 2004 Newbery Medal for children's literature. DiCamillo's novel Because of Winn-Dixie is the basis for an upcoming release from 20th Century Fox.